SOCI 388 Chapter 1: Goffman (2009) Notes
Document Summary
On the run: wanted men in a philadelphia ghetto. Experience of incarceration is typical for current birth cohorts of black men: former black felons face labor market discrimination, higher health costs, obstacles to housing, difficulty interacting with family in a sustained manner, and large-scale disenfranchisement. In addition to mass incarceration, there"s greater police surveillance in inner-city ghettoes where previously there was none. The dealings these young [black] men have with the police, courts, and the probation and parole board grant them an illegal or semilegal status and instill an overriding fear of capture . The urban poor and policing: prior to the 1990s, ghettoes were often considered abandoned by law enforcement. Conducted a survey in 2007 on a 5-block area that comprised 6th street and found that 93% of the population was black, and that about were on food stamps. Also interviewed 2 lawyers, one district attorney, 3 probation officers, 2 cops and 1 federal district judge.
